Norma Madie Gray Brownell

Mrs. Norma Madie Gray Brownell, 91, passed away Thursday, August 17, 2023, at Atrium Health Cabarrus in Concord.

A funeral service is scheduled for 2:00 pm Monday, August 21, 2023, at First Wesleyan Church. Pastor Michael Covington will officiate. Interment will follow at Carolina Memorial Park in Kannapolis.

The family will receive friends from 12:30 to 1:45 pm Monday at First Wesleyan Church.

Mrs. Brownell was born March 28, 1932 in Cabarrus County. She was a daughter of the late H. C. Gray and Zora Biggerstaff Gray. Norma Graduated from J.W. Cannon High School in 1949. She attended Marion College in Marion, IN and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education in 1954. Her first teaching job was Jackson Park Elementary School and she retired from Aycock Elementary school in 1990.

Having met her future husband, Richard Rudy Brownell while attending Marion College, and after his honorable discharge from the Air Force, they were married in Kannapolis on July 28, 1956. They both attended Appalachian State Teachers College and received their Masters in Education in 1960.

She was an active lifelong member of Kannapolis First Wesleyan Church and served in the music department as organist, pianist, and choir member. She enjoyed practicing and singing in small groups as well as playing the violin in her earlier years. Norma also enjoyed baking, sewing, and cross stitch. She also enjoyed history and genealogy research of the family. Both she and Rudy were members of the Cabarrus Genealogy Society, and she was a member of Alpha Delta Kappa organization of women educators.

Travel was also important to Norma. She loved to travel across the United States and visit family, as well as historical places.

She loved God, and served Him in many ways, especially through music. She enjoyed being enmeshed in Kannapolis First Wesleyan Membership and she always made sure that her children attended CYC every Wednesday night and Sunday School every Sunday. She helped with the Youth Groups and Ladies Church meetings. Her adult Sunday School Class was always having fun gatherings and cookouts. She was always teaching by word and example, especially with regard to God, morals, and family life.

Mrs. Brownell enjoyed all family gatherings, especially on Sundays. She organized family reunions, holidays, and birthdays. She loved attending live plays about history and patriotic themes and live musical concerts, especially for July 4 and Christmas. One of her favorites was the Messiah by Handel.

She was very practical and realistic in her approach to life's struggles and put her trust in God. She was a girl scout and always taught her children to "Be prepared" and to always do their best. She loved to watch and listen to the old Perry Mason, Westerns, any Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Liberace, or Andy Williams.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 58 years, Richard Rudy Brownell.

Mrs. Brownell is survived by daughter, Iris Brownell Poston of Mooresville; son, Alan Gray Brownell and wife Elizabeth of Troutman; granddaughter, Victoria Brownell Happ and husband Justin; great granddaughter, Audrey Zora Happ, all of Santa Maria, CA; granddaughter, Alexandria Leigh Brownell of Troutman; grandson, Aaron Grayson Brownell of Fort Bragg in Fayetteville; a niece; grand nephew; three grand nieces; three great grand nephews; and one great grand niece.

Memorials may be sent to First Wesleyan Church, 301 Bethpage Road, Kannapolis, NC 28081.